


Queen of the Night

by mythicalamity



Category: Rhett & Link
Genre: 69 (Sex Position), Anal Sex, Angst, Blow Jobs, Come Swallowing, Developing Relationship, Hotel Sex, Infidelity, M/M, Mutual Pining, Relationship Negotiation, Religious Conflict, Sexual Tension, Sexuality, Smut
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-05
Updated: 2021-03-03
Packaged: 2021-03-16 05:21:11
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 16,138
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28576659
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mythicalamity/pseuds/mythicalamity
Summary: Epiphyllum oxypetalum(Dutchman's pipe cactus, princess of the night, or queen of the night) is a species of cactus and one of the most cultivated species in its genus. E. oxypetalum rarely blooms and only at night, and its flowers wilt before dawn.
Relationships: Rhett McLaughlin/Link Neal
Comments: 53
Kudos: 60





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> **R** : If you could have a tongue that worked like that, would you?  
>  **L** : No. Easy question.  
>  **R** : What about one day.. a week?  
>  **L** : One day _a year_.  
>  **R** : One day a year? ‘Man tongue day.’  
>  **L** : I would do _anything_ one day a year.  
>  **R** : Really..?
> 
> —The first 16 seconds of [GMMore #1050](%E2%80%9C)

_December 2016_

Thin ribbons of blue smoke laced through the dense dank air of the dive bar. Rhett had to chuckle to himself that Link tolerated their patronage of this place. It wasn’t like Rhett enjoyed smokey rooms, he didn’t really. But it was different for Link. He and Christy had actually initiated room changes at hotels, because despite cleaning efforts the staff wasn’t able to fully erase the olfactory evidence that the previous occupants - or maybe the people _before_ the previous occupants - had smoked in the room. It was in the upholstery; it was in the walls. But here Rhett and Link were, and there was smoke actively wafting by on the air they were presently breathing. And neither of them were tempted to complain. First of all, the bartender was quietly intimidating enough for them to keep their comments between them. Also, there was something about immersing themselves in a place they wouldn’t normally that they found mutually appealing. Sure, they’d both hear about it when they got home. And be playfully prompted to change clothes and shower to get the smell out. But it was their _thing_ , their ritual. To grab some beers and a bite from their favorite dive bar after wrapping a season. Having adopted this place as such, the unappealing became endearing. 

Waiting for Link to return from his second trip to the bathroom that night, Rhett felt… less than enchanted. He felt nervous. Like he had his toes at the edge of a drop off, and he was seriously considering jumping. If he leapt, and things went poorly - if he survived, he definitely wouldn’t be able to jump again. But if the waters were as deep as he believed in his heart that they were, and he dove in… his life could be changed forever in a way that he’d only ever dared dream. 

But Rhett was still unsure. He and Link had been making their daily content for GMM long enough to know the difference between sincere things his best buddy said, and ridiculous things that he allowed to fall out of his mouth for entertainment value. Link’s on-camera persona managed to be simultaneously more unhinged and more buttoned up than his real life personality. But Rhett knew the difference. If he didn’t, who the heck else was gonna? He knew Link Neal better than anybody else, and he made a point of letting the world know that fact every chance he got.

But something Link had said in the episode earlier that day had him stumped. 

This last week had been particularly hectic, and they wound up having to cram four episodes into one day. 

_No wonder Link was so… ‘extra’ toward the end there,_ Rhett rationalized in his own mind. He straightened up in his seat at the booth as Link returned from the bathroom. 

“Got you another beer.” Rhett gestured to said bought beer. 

“Thanks, man. And our food arrived while I was gone! Love it when that happens.” Link pushed a french try past his teeth. “Hell of a week, huh?”

“Yeah…” Rhett mulled his thoughts over for the thousandth time, and nervously picked at the edges of the damp label peeling off his beer. 

“You all right, Rhett? You seem on edge.”

“Just like you already said. Hell of a week.”

Link snorted, wordlessly letting Rhett know that he knew there was something else on his mind. It was all well and good for Rhett to proclaim to the whole wide web that he knew Link better than anyone else. But something about the turnaround, the suggestion that maybe Link knew _him_ just as well… That thought made Rhett feel naked and vulnerable. 

_To hell with it_ , Rhett thought. “So, what did you mean by what you said in the episode?”

“Uh, you’re gonna have to be a little more specific. You know how many episodes we knocked out today?”

“You said that you would do anything for one day a year.”

“Oh, yeah.” Link shrugged, with a nonchalance that got directly under Rhett’s skin. 

How could Link act so casual about one of the most interesting things that had ever wrapped itself around Rhett’s mind - and had been clinging to the forefront of his consciousness ever since? 

“Well? What did you mean by it?”

“We were talking about like… super powers or abilities or whatever. But I think that it’s like your multiverse theory, right?”

“Not exactly. That’s more about having infinite possibilities.”

“That’s what I meant, if I could try an infinite number of things, I’d try ‘em all. But for like, a day.”

“But that’s not what you _said_ , Link. You said ‘one day a year’. So like. That could be… it doesn’t have to be different things. It could be the same thing. One day a year. Is that what you had in mind?”

Link tilted his head, curious as a dog trying to understand its owner’s human-speak. “What did _you_ have in mind?”

Rhett huffed, flustered. He hoped the barroom was dim enough to hide his blush. “You’re the one that said the dang thing.”

“Well, you seem to have put more thought into it than I ever did before sayin’ it!”

“Oh,” Rhett muttered with defensive sarcasm. “You mean Link Neal didn’t think before he spoke. That’s a shocker.”

“You don’t have to be a jerk about it,” Link mumbled. 

Rhett knew he was right, so he took a deep drink from his bottle. He took a breath and tried to reset the tone of the conversation. 

“Would you really do _anything_... one day a year?”

Rhett watched Link’s goozle bob up and down as he swallowed his drink. Link didn’t answer right away, and when he did his tone had gone serious and finally seemed to match Rhett’s wavelength. 

“This ain’t the multiverse, Rhett. This is our reality. Our very _finite_ reality. With consequences and what not.”

“Even if it was just one day? ...each year?” Rhett was becoming less concerned with the amount of desperation leaking from between his words. He had never tried to ask Link for this so directly, and he was keenly aware that he was still dancing all around it. It was pathetic, but he wasn’t sure he’d ever find the nerve to ask any more plainly than this. 

Link’s eyebrows knit together in… confusion? Or his internal conflict was simply manifesting itself right there on his face. “Rhett. Are you asking me what I think you’re asking?”

“So it was just something you said,” Rhett curtly clarified, trying and failing to keep the defensive sting from seeping back into his tone. “And it didn’t mean anything deeper than that. Despite that… that _way_ that you said it.”

Link furiously chewed at his bottom lip. The silence stretched out endlessly tense between them until Link snapped it with a single word.

“No. No, Rhett… I actually did mean it.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It says so at the top of the chapter, but to avoid confusion, I will state it here as well: this is a _**flashback chapter**_ ✨

_June 2016 (approximately months earlier…)_

“Can we guess the wacky flavor combination of this boutique lip glossss, by the scent of the smell waves wafting up our nosssss-trils?”

Rhett held back his chuckle at Link’s put-on, overexcited stage voice. He knew his cheeks would give him away, round and pink with fondness. He maintained as much stoicism as he could as he made deliberately relentless eye contact with the camera. 

“Let’s talk about that.”  
  


Rhett looked at himself in the monitor between takes. He had decided to stop keeping his hair locked completely upright in hair product. He liked what his hair had decided to do with its newfound freedom, for the most part. It tended to go a little curly in places, creating rogue hair whorls from time to time. 

They were rounding out Link’s birthday month by sniffing different lip balms and trying to guess what flavor they were marketed as. It was also less than subtle marketing of their own lip balm products. Rhett tried to keep that in mind as they moved forward with the episode, there was a chance he would be smelling wood & berries, or peanut butter & peppermint. The conceit of the ‘birthday theme’ of the episode was that these would be flavors that Link liked. Another hint to keep in mind as he guessed. 

“So, are the… applicators? All the same shape and size?” Link asked. “Like, holding them to smell them won’t be some kind of hint?”

Stevie’s miked voice answered, “Are you that familiar with the different types of lip balms that that would be that big of a clue?”

Rhett snickered. 

“Okay, so we _will_ be holding them to sniff them?”

“I didn’t say that…”

Rhett could hear the sly smirk in Stevie’s voice even without being able to see her face. She was up to something. He didn’t know about lip balm, but Rhett smelled trouble.

“Oookay, Stevie,” Rhett led, feigning cool confidence on the other side of what he was sure was a joke that he and Link were the collective butt of. “How will the scents be delivered to our sniffers?”

“You’re going to both be blindfolded, of course.”

“Of course,” Link echoed. 

“The person _not_ guessing will apply the lip balm to their own lips. And then the guesser will have to blindly sniff out the source, and make their best guess. If they can’t guess it, the person wearing the lip balm has a chance to steal.”

There was a collective silence. Rhett could already see it in his mind. The out of context screenshots and gifs of him and Link with their faces a fraction of an inch apart. Going back in for second sniffs. He could imagine how easy it would be to freeze any given moment to give the appearance of a less contrived and more intimate moment. The entire thing made him ache. 

“All right then,” Link shrugged and pulled his blindfold down. “Who guesses first?”

Link’s nonchalance about this made Rhett’s chest tighten even more. It wasn’t a big deal to him, was it? And why should it be? It was just a game. And a bit of fan service. Rhett had survived worse…  
  


Rhett blindly applied the first lip balm. He tried to focus on the smell and subtle taste of the balm, wanting to be ready if he had an opportunity to steal. Trying to distract himself from the fact that at any moment, his best friend would be sniffing his way toward his lips. Rhett’s heart beat faster with the anticipation. Rhett could smell the artificial smoky aroma instantly. Liquid smoke…? Ham? Bacon… This was the Internet. It had to be bacon. Maybe Link would sniff it out from a mile away too, and the round would be over quickly. 

“Woo! That’s a strong scent, man!” Link exclaimed dramatically. 

“What can I say? I’m a strong man. Hehehe…”

“Rhett…” Link teased accusingly. “Did you go and.. _Rub Some Bacon on It_?”

“I wouldn’t know! But I think you’re right, brother! Stevie?”

“Is it bacon?!”

“Link.” Stevie’s voice began the dramatic slow reveal. “You are… right!”

They lifted their blindfolds momentarily to make clever commentary about the internet’s fascination with bacon. And how neither of them ever really enjoyed artificial bacon flavoring in things like this. Rhett could feel himself relax with the completion of the first round. Maybe this wouldn’t be as torturous as he’d built it up in his mind. 

“Blindfolds down, guys,” Stevie directed. “Ready for round two! Rhett, you are now the guesser. Link, moisten those lips!”

They both cringed at the phrasing, but got on with it. 

“Oh, mmm…” Link said, as if involuntarily.

“Don’t be givin’ me hints! Or actually, by all means, Neal! Keep talkin! I already know that it’s something good…”

Rhett subtly inhaled the air in front of him, seeing if he’d be able to learn anything. He wasn’t smelling a whole lot. His stomach fluttered as he made the inevitable move to lean in closer. He moved slowly, thinking he wouldn’t need to get _that_ close. He could smell something vaguely sweet.

“Something like a baked good? Or icing?”

“Are either of those official guesses?” Stevie asked. 

Rhett’s eyebrows furrowed with thought. It definitely wasn’t one of their products. The smell seemed so subtle. Maybe if he got closer, it would be more clear. He was debating the logistic sense that it might make - would he actually get any better idea? Or was he just drawn to the idea of having an excuse to get closer to Link’s lips? He hated the thought of not having a visible boundary; though it also made him feel like a giddy teenager. As his mind was spinning, something clicked. 

“A cinnamon roll!”

“Yes!” Stevie’s voice chimed. “It’s Cinnabon brand!”

“Now,” Link countered. “Is that really a cinnamon _roll_? Or is Cinna _bon_ a cinna _bun_?”

“Is there a difference between a cinnamon bun and a cinnamon roll?” Rhett inquired skeptically. “Stevie?”

“Uhhhh… I don’t believe so.”

“Well, then what am I thinking of?” Link demanded incredulously. “There’s a different bun… that I don’t particularly care for?”

“I’m gratefully unaware of your bun preferences, Link,” Stevie snarked. 

“Point for me!” Rhett announced to move things along. “Onto the next round!”

Rhett put on the lip balm, and for a moment wondered if he was putting on Link’s perfectly peculiar peanut butter peppermint. There was definitely a mint component. 

“Huh…” Link murmured. “Now this one’s just strange.”

Rhett found himself holding his breath as the air around him felt thick and tangible; like something Link might be able to cut right through. 

“Is it _my_ flavor? My Mythical lip balm? Do I gotta say the whole name?”

“Why don’t you take another sniff?” Stevie guided him. 

“You’re giving him hints?!”

“Hold still, Rhett. I’m comin’ in hot!”

“Well,” Rhett awkwardly chuckled, pulling back a little. “Maybe cool down a little before you move in on me like that.”

“It’s not mint?” Link asked. 

“I’m…” Stevie began with a faux nervousness. “I’m sorry, Rhett. I have to give him another clue, but I promise you he’s never going to get this. It _is_ mint, but it is also something else...”

“And I’m never gonna be able to guess it? What the crap, Stevie? What’s the point then?”

“Do you have a guess, Link?”

“Mint and… I dunno. Ice cream? Mint chocolate chip?”

“Nnnnnnoooo. I’m sorry, Link. That’s incorrect. Rhett, would you like to steal?”

Rhett wanted to just say he didn’t know, but he had to guess something. 

“Is it, like… kids’ toothpaste? Like bubblemint or something?”

“That is also incorrect! What you guys have been smelling, and in Rhett’s case tasting is a combination of _cotton candy_ and mint. Marketed as the flavor ‘Unicorn Farts’!”

“First of all, that’s not a real flavor! Secondly, I don’t even _like_ mint flavored stuff, y’all! I thought there was supposed to be some kinda theme around flavors that I like?”

“These last two rounds are going to be the Link’s Likes rounds. Are you ready?

 _Two more rounds_ , Rhett assured himself. He adjusted his blindfold as he waited for Link to get ready. 

“You all balmed up there, buddyroll?” Rhett asked, trying not to show how tense he felt, and how anxious he was to be through with the segment. 

“Oh, huh,” Link began, again unable to control himself despite it not being his turn to guess. “Now this is real interesting. It’s triggering such a specific part of my brain, but I can’t place it.”

Rhett huffed a little. “Lucky for you, it ain’t your turn to place it. So just sit still.”

Rhett was distantly aware of Stevie’s laughter. He wondered if he’d said anything that might have led him down the right path. But he couldn’t smell anything specific… just a thin scent of subtle sweetness. It wasn’t as pungent as the Cinnabon he’d smelled earlier. And if it was something as whimsically named as Unicorn Farts, he knew his efforts may be completely in vain.

“I know this smell,” Rhett thought out loud. He leaned in closer, and he knew holding his breath was counterproductive to placing the scent. But his adrenaline was coursing. He smelled more than lip balm. He could smell the scent of Link’s skin, his hair product, his aftershave. None of the smells were overwhelming, and Link hadn’t laid them on too thick - Rhett just knew how the man that he’d spent more time with than any other human smelled. And he could smell past the grooming products to the natural musk of him. And sat this close to him, trying to smell his face.. It was all that Rhett wanted to smell. He didn’t give a damn about lip balm. He was torn between tearing himself out of that situation, and living there for the rest of eternity. He didn’t have a clue what the scent of the lip balm was, he knew he wasn’t going to guess; it was just a matter of how long he was going to allow himself to indulge like this. 

“Rhett?” Stevie softly prompted after a while. “Do you have a guess?”

Rhett backed up and cleared his throat. “I, uh… Heh… This one’s got me stumped. 

“Remember, this is a ‘Link Like!’...”

It didn’t smell like peanut butter, it wasn’t either of their Mythical Lip Balms… He fumbled with the short list of items that Link canonically loved before he landed on, “Cereal!”

“More specific…..?”

“No clue. I barely landed in the Cereal realm.”

“Link?”

“It’s Lucky Charms, man!” Link proudly announced. 

“Oh shoot! That is right.. I can… Oh gosh, this sounds weird, but I can smell the milk! Like, the cereal milk.”

“Yes! Exactly! How did the lip balm people capture that specific flavor of Lucky Charms milk?”

“This lip balm biz is straight up alchemy,” Rhett joked. 

“I tell you what,” Link teased. “They capture the essence of Frosted Mini Wheats this next one, and I don’t give a crap. I’m going on for the kiss!”

Rhett’s brain spun out as he tried to come up with a GMM safe way to respond to that. 

“That’s one way to get clicks,” Steve giggled.

“I tell you what, Link. Save your kisses, and we’ll send you back home to your wife with your very own lip balm.”

“I’m really dropping hints left and right today,” Stevie said. “But that was our only cereal related item. So both Rhett and Christy are just going to have to win Link’s smooches some other way.”

Rhett felt like his face was on fire. He was thankful to be blindfolded, because if he wasn’t he wouldn’t know where to look. He wanted to say something childish, like that he wasn’t trying to win any kisses from Link. But on paper that spoke for itself, _of course_ he wasn’t. That’s why it was funny. Friends didn’t have to clarify that. But he felt absolutely nauseous over the truth. If they weren’t on set… There’s nothing Rhett wanted more than for Link to invade his personal space, and smell, feel, and taste his way toward the right answer. 

Rhett felt like he was beginning to sweat. They had to get this over with. 

“Last one?” Rhett prompted, grateful his voice hadn’t broken around the lump forming in his throat. 

The tension was making Rhett cranky. His vulnerability tended to skew aggressive, and there was really nowhere appropriate to direct these feelings - aside from inward, at his own ridiculous decades long schoolboy crush. His lips were beginning to feel raw from applying and rubbing off the different balms. Maybe he’d take the Cinnabon one home with him for actual use. 

The second he applied the final lip balm, he knew what it was. Chocolatey, peanut buttery… And the exact over-sugared brand of peanut butter too. There was no mistaking when it came to Reese’s. The brand was also completely on brand as a favorite of Link’s, and it actually smelled like what it was being marketed as. This round should be over in two seconds. If that. 

Rhett did feel some sense of relief, and his muscles unclenched a little. The end was near. He pressed his freshly balmed lips together before relaxing them and waited for the guessing to begin. 

Rhett could hear Link audibly sniffing. No doubt for effect. Making sure the microphone would pick up his efforts. But it made Rhett feel like Link was close to him. And maybe he was… 

“Oh now _this_ is something I feel like I should know.”

 _Should know??_ Rhett thought. _Is he really gonna act like he doesn’t know?_

Rhett could feel the heat of Link’s face near his. He was so, so close! Rhett could feel the static of what little space was left between them cracking with electricity. He had goosebumps along his neck and running down his spine. He fought the urge to shiver. After all, he didn’t know exactly where Link’s face was at this point. But he could _sense_ that Link was really pushing it… Rhett was terrified to move, exhilarated by not knowing, and his body was responding as he felt himself harden and twitch in his pants. He swore he could feel Link’s body beat, as if he might crawl into his lap to try to get a better sniffing angle from which to make his guess. 

“Wow, Rhett…”

 _Wow?! Wow what?_ For a moment he felt terrified that Link somehow knew how panicky he felt, knew how swollen his cock was - aching just from Link’s assumed proximity. 

But of course that couldn’t be true… 

Rhett’s breaths were coming deeper and closer together. Oh god, he was breathing heavy! And there was nothing he could do about any of it.

When Link spoke next, Rhett could feel the warmth of his breath on his lips. 

“You’re a lucky dog, Rhett… Gettin’ to try this one. I think I might wanna take this one home with me, give it a little taste..”

Why was Link’s voice changing like that? He couldn’t be completely imagining that! In the darkness, Rhett could feel Link shifting closer and Rhett jumped back, scooting his whole chair away. 

There were a couple of stifled gasps and giggles from the crew. Rhett was tempted to rip his blindfold off; the only thing keeping him in some measure of control was the threat of having to record this round a second time. He didn’t know if he could do that without spontaneously combusting. Or at least busting in his pants… 

“You gonna hurry up and guess? Or you want me to steal.”

“It’s Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, man!” Link said giddily. 

“Correct!” Stevie conceded, her voice sounding somewhat strained. 

“Lemme keep that one, guys? You must have more over there.”

“Congratulations, Link! You absolutely get to keep any lip balm of your choosing.”

“Yessss!!”

A crew member offstage tossed one toward the desk, and Rhett absently reached a hand out to catch it and handed it over to Link. 

Link looked at Rhett with an expression of wonder and adoration. It wasn’t the first time Link had looked at Rhett like that, and each time made Rhett’s insides melt. 

“Thank you, Rhett.” Link turned to the camera, and pointed. “You know what time it is.”

  
“ _Bok bok!”_ Link clucked as he sidled up next to Rhett later that day. 

Rhett just looked at him, confused. “Huh?”

“You chickened out, man!”

“At what exactly?”

“C’mon, Rhett. You know that was all a set up trying to get us to slip up and slip some, uh… lip?”

Rhett rolled his eyes to keep from letting any genuine emotion creep to the surface. 

“They should know by now, we’re not as dumb as we look.”

“You were scared, though.” Link wasn’t letting it go. “I mean, you _jumped_ back, man!”

“It was just a weird impulse. Neither of us could see.. I had no way to know how close you were letting yourself get.”

“Was it really worth jumping away from, though?”

Rhett’s stomach felt like caged butterflies again. What was Link trying to ask him? Was he actually asking Rhett if it would be so bad if they kissed? How was he supposed to answer that. What was Link wanting to hear? 

“All’s I’m tryin’ to say,” Link quickly continued, as casually as if he were talking about the weather. “Is that there’s all kinds of comedic duos who’ve done a quick kiss.. for entertainment purposes.”

The butterflies in Rhett’s stomach turned to ice and shattered in his gut. The frozen, numb feeling was all that was keeping his blood from boiling over with frustration. 

“Link,” Rhett said through grit teeth, hoping his tone managed to come out level and indifferent. “I have _no_ interest in kissing you for entertainment purposes.” 

Link didn’t bring it up again. 

* * *

After that, there was an added layer of tension between them. It was so thin that Rhett didn’t know if anyone else would be able to detect it. There were some days when Rhett himself let it go unnoticed. Those were good days. 

The other days felt plagued by subtle glances, lingering looks, loaded phrasing, microexpressions that were so delicate that Rhett himself wasn’t sure he wasn’t imagining things. And it was possible that these traces had existed between them all their lives. A muted layer of tension that had always coated everything they shared. It was only recently that Rhett’s attention had been drawn to it; only recently that he’d noticed it was flammable.   
  


Six months later, Link said the words that set the whole thing on fire. On the heels of a completely innocent conversation. The look, the tone… 

“I would do _anything_ one day a year.”

Rhett knew that he wasn’t going to wade through the discomfort and cognitive dissonance he’d been drowning in by himself any longer. Link was either going to dive in with him, or Rhett was pulling the plug and draining the whole thing.


	3. Chapter 3

_ December 2016 - Back at the dive bar  _

Link furiously chewed at his bottom lip. The silence stretched out endlessly tense between them until Link snapped it with a single word.

“No. No, Rhett… I actually did mean it.”

Rhett’s jaw hung open, and for a moment he was speechless. When he found himself able to loosely articulate thoughts again he asked, “What exactly did you mean then? And why wouldn’t you  _ tell me  _ instead of just.. dropping cryptic suggestions and leaving me to decode them? Makin’ me think I’m reading things wrong, just because I want—”

“Because it doesn’t matter! You already told me how you feel about… my  _ suggestions _ . So who cares if it’s cryptic or crystal clear? You don’t have any interest...” Link took a deep breath, straightened up in his seat, and looked Rhett relentlessly in the eye. “You don’t have any interest in kissing me.”

“Is this about the lip balm episode?” It was easy enough to recall. That day had haunted Rhett ever since it happened. He relived the dang thing every day in his memories and every night in his dreams; even as he tried to forget about it. Somehow, by trying to bury the details, he always found himself picking each detail up in his mind and examining it from all angles before setting it down and claiming to never want to see it again. “That’s only half of what I said, Link. I said I had no interest in kissing you  _ for entertainment purposes. _ I swear, I thought I gave myself away by tacking that part on at the end.”

Link fidgeted with his cuticles, his wedding ring, and the leftover fries going cold on his plate. “I think that I, like… dissociated after the first part. I felt like I had put enough out there to let you know what was on my mind. And all’s I heard in return was that you didn’t want me.”

“Link, I won’t kiss you on camera. I won’t kiss you for clicks, or worse -  _ laughs _ . It’s not a joke to me.”

They were playing a brutal game of eye contact chicken at this point. All of Rhett’s pent up passion was threatening to bore holes through Link’s pupils. 

“I  _ do _ wanna kiss you, though. For no one else’s enjoyment but our own; for no one’s amusement, and not for any kind of shock value. I wanna kiss you like no one else exists. Even if it’s just once.”

“Once a year…” Link said softly. 

They both sat in silence for a moment before Link spoke again. 

“I always thought on camera would be safer. Like, it’s not a joke to me either, but it might be safer if other people thought it was. And since it’s a comedy show..?”

“Not the way I wanna kiss you, Link. I don’t think anyone would be laughing.”

Link blushed furiously, and pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. “It would be easier to explain than… I dunno.”

“Than the fact that I wanna kiss you so bad that it aches to be near you the way that we are? That the way I think about it all day, everyday it’s a miracle the heat of it hasn’t burnt me alive by now?”

Link was still blushing, but he was also smiling. “Yeah, easier than explaining  _ that.” _

“Well,” Rhett was treading genuinely carefully now. He felt like he was getting so close to what he had wanted so badly for so long, that if he wasn’t careful it was going to slip out of his grasp. “The thing about your ‘joke’ about ‘anything, one day a year’, is that it feels like you don’t really gotta explain it to anybody. It’s… I mean, it’s hardly worth making a fuss over, don’t you think?”

“There’s not much of  _ this _ year left, Rhett.”

“I could make an excuse... not to go home tonight.” Rhett’s stomach twisted a bit, knowing that not only would it be true. But that the reason it would be fine if he stayed out overnight was that he was with Link. Link was safe, and trusted. There was no way he was up to anything too bad if he was with Link, right? And if this went well, and it happened again… once a year, that wasn’t even a pattern, really. Hardly suspicious. He would be home, present, a dutiful husband and father 364 nights of the year. 

Even before he’d privately rationalized it, he knew that the fire in his blood was going to win out over the knot in his stomach.   


* * *

They get a hotel room. The room was as nice as they could get without getting into ‘suite’ territory. They thought a suite seemed a little too fancy for their purposes; though they also agreed that a sleazy motel wasn’t right either. There was nothing sleazy about their need. Rhett refused to let it feel like that. 

Rhett had no clue what he expected to happen tonight. He still wasn’t convinced that Link wasn’t going to lose his nerve. Link didn’t rationalize as easily as Rhett did. He was as harsh with himself as anyone Rhett had ever met. It wasn’t easy for Link to break rules. Rhett felt a little guilty over steering him in this direction, even this far. This was a familiar dynamic for them. Since they were kids, Rhett trying to convince Link to make a prank phone call, throw rocks, try a sip of wine, or swim in parts of the river they had no business being in. 

They certainly had no business in these waters. 

But as the door closed behind them, shutting out the rest of the world, and shrinking their universe down to their small room - and its large bed, and just the two of them… it occurred to Rhett that Link’s moral compass was so strong, Rhett never had really been able to push Link into doing anything he’d not wanted to do. 

If he was following Rhett down this path, he must really want to go there with him. And Rhett wanted that, too. So why did it feel so… wrong? He began to wonder if he was projecting his own uncertainties onto Link. Because it was easier than admitting to himself that  _ he  _ might be getting cold feet. 

“So…” Rhett said, just for the sake of saying something. “Here we are?”

“A hotel room…” Link was softly shaking his head. “Makes it feel so… deliberate. Calculated.”

“I mean,” Rhett forced a chuckle. “It’s not an accident!”

“What even happens next? Should I, like, set my wedding band on the nightstand or something?”

“I would prefer that you didn’t. I wanted to be here with  _ you _ . And that ring is part of who you are. I know there’s nowhere around the fact that I’m disrespecting what it stands for…”

“Oh gosh, Rhett. I think I might be sick.”

“Again, Link. Let me finish.”

“I love that you’re a good husband, and that you are so committed and nurturing toward that long term commitment. Again, I know it sounds contradictory given our circumstances, but I love Christy. No offense,” he added with a wink. “But I love Jessie even more than I love Christy. I don't want to hurt them, but the scales have tipped toward me being willing to risk it by loving you.”

Rhett was able to see the sharp intake of breath in Link’s chest at those words:  _ loving you. _

“Just for tonight,” Rhett stressed. “The rest of the year, I wanna support you and your marriage and your family, same way I always have. If you feel the same, I… Will you let me do that just this once? Let me love you?”

“Maybe we can start with that kiss? The one that’s not for entertainment value.”

If Rhett was being completely honest with himself, his mind had completely run away with the idea of getting a hotel room with Link for the limited express purpose of doing  _ anything  _ they wanted with one another. 

But fantasy wasn’t reality, and if Link wanted to use their one night to kiss. Well, that was more than Rhett had ever had the opportunity to do outside of his active imagination. And it was more than enough. 

They awkwardly shrugged out of their coats, setting wallets and phones and things on the table. 

Rhett reached a hand on toward Link, and a weight was lifted when Link easily took it. 

“Do you still feel sick?”

“Honestly? A little… but I’m gonna feel worse if I let this chance slip past me  _ again.” _

Rhett smiled. “There’s always next year?”

“There is, isn’t there?” 

Link sounded hopeful, and in a way that made Rhett think that Link didn’t want this to be the last time either. 

Link’s hand came up to stroke Rhett’s cheek, petting his beard and making a soft and curious ‘hmm’ sound. The touch was so innocent, but Rhett couldn’t get past the feeling that  _ Link’s hands were on him.  _ With intent.

“I don’t want you to regret me…” Rhett mumbled, as vulnerable as he’d ever been. 

“Then you’d better make this good,” Link gently teased. He shifted his body weight and leaned into Rhett. He tilted his head up, and Rhett felt exactly like he had during the lip balm episode. Link impossibly close to him, his face so close to Rhett’s lips, Rhett’s eyes slipped shut to focus his other senses on Link. It was like he was blindfolded in anticipation again. 

Link’s thumb brushed against Rhett’s bottom lip, and then Link chased the touch with his lips - taking Rhett’s breath away. 

Rhett wrapped his arms around Link, and felt Link’s arms folding up the length of his back. Link’s lips were so soft and warm. And he kept making those little humming sounds that sent subtle vibrations through his lips making them tingle. 

It was easy for Rhett to get lost in the kiss, but he refused to be a passive player in this. If this was the only time he ever had this opportunity, he was gonna make sure Link thought of it fondly. 

He held Link more tightly, and accepted Link’s tongue into his mouth when it started suggestively licking between his. Rhett’s tongue danced around and massaged against Link’s. Rhett couldn’t resist sucking on the length of it suggestively. Suggestive of something he hadn’t actually done, but was positively exhilarated by the prospect of Link calling his bluff. 

He wasn’t bluffing. 

Link’s small hums turned into little moans, and Rhett was unabashedly hard in his pants. He thought he could feel Link pressed against his hip as well. 

They pulled apart for air. And through his panting Link asked, “You said for me to let you love me. Did you mean, just like, physically? Or were you saying that you…” Link shook his head with a smile. He looked almost drunk, or at least lightheaded. “Screw it, it doesn't matter what you were saying.. Here’s what  _ I’m _ saying: I love you, Rhett.”

“I love you,” Rhett breathed before aggressively crashing his lips back against Link’s. 

They eventually landed themselves on the bed, and stopped down to t-shirts and their underwear. It was… comfortable. 

“Thank you for not letting this happen on camera,” Link said, nuzzling his head in to rest against Rhett’s broad chest. 

Rhett laughed, and fleetingly wondered what it sounded like to Link’s ear pressed against his rib cage. “Man, I don’t think anyone would let this happen on camera.”

“You’re right. It’s not exactly a comedic kiss.”

“You don’t think I’m funny?” Rhett pretended to be hurt. 

“Oh, you’re plenty funny. But you’re also… a lot more.. to me.”

“You  _ love _ me,” Rhett grinned. An edge of teasing to his voice. 

“Pshh. You love me  _ more _ ,” Link said, matching his playful tone. 

“You’re probably right,” Rhett whispered against the top of Link’s head. As he held him like that, feeling the rise and fall of his breaths, softly inhaling the scent of him, he wasn’t disappointed that they had not been more... adventurous with one another. He actually wondered if this was all that he had needed. A lifetime of conditioning made him feel silly for this apparent yearning to cuddle. Then again, he was pretty sure he’d heard of ‘cuddle therapy’... So he wasn’t alone. 

He squeezed Link just a liiiittle more tightly. He definitely wasn’t alone. 

Rhett could feel how Link’s body relaxed and his breathing changed as he fell asleep in Rhett’s arms. Rhett felt so happy he could cry. But instead he fell asleep too, with a smile on his face.

* * *

Rhett slept the most deep and restorative sleep he’d experienced in he couldn’t remember how long. His dreams were pleasant and vivid. Even in his dreams, he was with Link. And in his dreams, it seemed that they  _ were _ more adventurous. He was hard in Link’s hand as Link tentatively palmed at his tented briefs. Link was huddled down around Rhett’s waist and Rhett could feel his hot breath through the thin fabric that separated them. Rhett found himself grunting, groaning.. in his dream, but also aloud. He shifted his hips in the bed to try to make himself more comfortable, feeling precariously perched on the edge of a dream and reality as consciousness creeped back in until he realized that Link was, in fact, huddled down by Rhett’s hips, tugging at the waistband of Rhett’s underwear. 

“Link? Whhhadd’ryou…”

“I can’t waste this chance,” Link told him. “If we spend this one night together and I don’t taste you—”

“I— You— You don’t gotta..”

“Now who’s not listening? I’m tellin’ you that I  _ want _ this. I need this, man. It’s like the last of earth’s air is trapped in your dick and I am desperate to inhale it.”

Rhett could hardly believe he wasn’t still dreaming. This was the most bizarre scenario he’d ever woken up in.

“If I don’t… I mean, that is, of course - if you’ll let me?”

“I ain’t about to stop you!” Rhett assured him in his dizzy, dreamy state. 

“If I don’t do this, it’s gonna haunt me for a minimum of 364 days. And there’s no guarantees in this life, Rhett. Except that if I don’t ever have another chance, and I blow this one - I’m gonna regret it a lot longer than that, probably my whole life.”

“Did you really say  _ blow this one _ , when you’re about to—?”

Rhett’s joke was cut off as he felt Link’s soft warm mouth wrap around his cock. He was breathless, speechless. Link’s mouth was every bit the heaven that he’d always dreamed it was. 

Rhett’s brain became less sleepy as he awakened into the feeling of Link’s eager mouth working over his dick. He tried to memorize every sensation, the way he felt, the way he sounded as he hummed, moaned and made little wet involuntary sounds. And the way he looked - gosh, Link looked gorgeous with his dick in his mouth. His lips flushed pink wrapped around his shaft, his full cheeks hollowed with the effort. His eyes… sometimes slipped shut as if he was lost in his own thoughts and experiences of the moment, and then suddenly opened: wide, impossibly blue, and shining - small tears prickling at the corners of his eyes as he tried to take Rhett deeper into his throat. He was absolutely stunning. 

Rhett was overcome by the desire to have his hands on Link, his mouth on him, nothing he could imagine felt like it could be too intimate. He set his hand over Link’s shoulder and squeezed it. 

“Link?”

Link startled still, and Rhett could see that he was concerned. As if maybe he’d done something wrong. 

“You feel so good,” Rhett was quick to assure him. “Incredible. But I wanna suck you, too.”

Link smiled, already flushed and panting. “Yeah, okay. You can go next.”

“No, man. I wanna…” Rhett made a sort of twisting motion between the space Link was currently occupying around Rhett’s lower body, and the empty space on the bed more toward Rhett’s upper body.

“Really?” Link asked, sounding kind of unsure. “You think we’re coordinated enough for that? Or, like, is that a thing people really do? Or isn’t that more like… a porn thing or whatever?”

“You never have?”

Link shrugged. “I’m not a big multitasker.”

“I wanna taste you while you have my dick in your mouth,” Rhett said boldly. “I think you’ll like it, too. It seems… really hot. Will you try?”

Link’s shoulders were nearly heaving with how heavily he was breathing. Link scooted himself up onto the bed, and shimmied out of his shorts. He pushed Rhett’s briefs further down, until Rhett was able to kick them off of one leg so that his legs weren’t bound together. 

Rhett found himself face to… not exactly face. But Link’s cock was  _ right there.  _ It was swollen and leaking, and Rhett loved how excited Link had gotten just by sucking on him. He wrapped a large hand around Link’s shaft and felt how warm and weighty it felt. It twitched and a bead of precome glistened at the head. 

Rhett couldn’t resist any longer. He propped himself up so that he could twist his trunk just enough to meet Link’s angled-up hips. He almost wished he could see the view of their pretzeled bodies, creating an erotic pleasure loop. 

Link tasted warm, and his skin seemed so delicate. Link’s hips easily bucked and stuttered as Rhett explored his length with his tongue and lips. He was big, and Rhett loved the feel of his size filling his little mouth - stretching his thin lips. Link was right, he wasn’t a multitasker, and sometimes his motions would stall and Rhett’s cock would just rest in his warm wet mouth as he bobbed his head over and around Link’s length. The dual sensations were overwhelming and Rhett warned Link that he was getting close.

Rhett had to pull off of Link as he felt himself on the precipice of his orgasm. 

“You feel so good.” Rhett struggled not to end the sentiment with a pet name. “I’m close, Link.” Now that he’d said it, using Link’s name instead of a term of endearment felt even more intimate. It wouldn’t be the first time he came with Link’s name falling out of his mouth; but it would be the first time Link was going to know about it. 

Link lifted his head and replaced his mouth with his hand. Rhett’s thighs trembled as he propped himself up on his elbows to watch Link stroke him until he was shooting warm jizz over the soft chestnut fuzz around his navel. 

Rhett wasted no time maneuvering Link onto his back, and sliding himself down onto his shaky knees at the foot of the bed to give Link his full attention. 

Link was twitchy and noisy and every bit as sexy as Rhett had always fantasized. Rhett shamelessly slobbered up and down Link’s cock, taking cues from the way his body convulsed or the way his breath hitched when he moved his tongue a certain way. 

It would have been a ridiculous thing to be competitive over; clearly, that wasn’t what Rhett was doing. However, he did have it firmly in mind that Link had just led him to one of the best orgasms he’d ever experienced. So it was only polite that he  _ at least _ do as good of a job for Link… If not be even better.

“Rhett!” Link gasped. “I’m gonna…”

Rhett doubled down on his efforts. 

Link grabbed onto Rhett’s shoulder, to warn him further. But Rhett was determined, and nearly gagged as he fucked his own mouth with Link’s dick. 

“I’m coming!” Link groaned, his voice breaking into a whine as his hips thrust upward shooting his load into the wet heat of Rhett’s mouth. 

The sensation was both… surprising and exactly what Rhett figured he should’ve expected. 

“Fuck…” Link sighed as Rhett relaxed his throat and swallowed stoically. “You’re always more brave than me with these taste tests…”

They took a steaming hot shower together, washing one another with delicate and curious touches. When they got out they were clean, sated, and relaxed. They easily fell back to sleep without a single ‘what if’ left between the two of them. 

* * *

Early the following morning they awoke with the sun. And dressed in their same clothes from the day before. They were able to grab some toothbrushes and toothpaste from the front desk, as well as a continental breakfast of black coffee and baked goods. 

“Is this what they call ‘the walk of shame’?” Link asked as they walked to the car. “Going home early in the morning in the same clothes as the night before?”

Rhett snort-laughed. “Guess there’s a first time for everything.” He then asked sincerely, “Do you  _ feel _ … ashamed?”

Link thought about it carefully before shaking his head. “I know I oughtta.”

“Yeah,” Rhett couldn’t hold back his grin. “I don’t either.”

And just like that, the magic of that night evaporated with the rising sun, and carried off a good deal of the pain associated with their yearning along with it. 

Until next year...


	4. Chapter 4

_Summer 2017_

You would think that it would be difficult to just go back to business as usual after sharing such intimacy. But instead of it feeling heavy, it felt incredibly light. There were times Rhett felt tempted to feel guilty over the lack of guilt that he experienced over having given into this lifelong temptation. Instead, it felt like the wave of guilt that had loomed over him had finally crested and broken. The obsessive thoughts over wanting but not having no longer plagued his every thought, and he was no longer haunted throughout sleepless nights by the not knowing. Rhett slept securely now, wrapped in warm thoughts of the requited love that he and Link shared. He wasn’t tortured throughout the days with lingering gazes, deliberate eye contact, or glancing touches - wondering what it meant, or if it meant anything at all. He _knew_. And that knowing was like a drug that flowed through him, heightening every experience, deepening every relationship. He felt a fuller, truer version of himself - not repressed by yearning and doubt, not resentful of missed opportunities and what ifs.

Rhett and Link had not stopped talking about it. They didn’t feel the need to pretend that it hadn’t happened. In fact, they had discussed it in detail, a few times - wanting to make sure they were both feeling good beyond the immediate afterglow. Rhett was good at rationalizing and twisting truths from his desires - so he would have easily believed that it was a trick of his delusional mind making himself believe their indiscretion had actually _helped_ their friendship and marriages. He was good at believing what he wanted to believe. But Link wasn’t like that. He’d always kept Rhett honest. Rhett had always joked that if there was an opportunity to feel guilty, Link could find it. If it was a needle in a haystack, Link was a magnet. 

“We still good?” Rhett asked one quiet day, a few months later. They were in their office, taking a break for lunch, and Link had joined him at the edge of his desk as they ate takeout sandwiches and chips. 

It was a loaded question and Rhett knew that even as he asked it. They were about to spend the next couple of months of their summer shooting the second season of Buddy System. It meant they’d be spending a lot of time together. But a lot of that time would be fast paced and stressful. It would be hard on their working relationship as well as their friendship and their family lives. 

Link smiled. “Yeah, Rhett. We’re good.”

“All of us? You and Chris?”

Link surprised Rhett by blushing. 

“Uhh… You have something to share with the class, Mr. Neal?”

“I mean, I know I probably shouldn’t share.”

“I like sharin’ things that aren’t s’posed to be shared,” Rhett teased. Jokes like that didn’t always go over well with Link depending on his mood, but he seemed like he was in a _good_ mood. And he giggled at Rhett’s inappropriate comment. 

“I surprised Christy the other night with, uh… a suggestion.” 

“I’m listening.”

“Do you really wanna hear something like this?”

“I’m not jealous. I want you to have a healthy, happy marriage. And knowing you as the sexual person that you are, I do realize that that health and happiness is likely to consist of more than ‘one night per year’.”

“One _amazing_ night,” Link quickly corrected him. “Knowing it and hearing about it are two different things, though.”

“Are they different for you?” Rhett asked, genuinely curious.

Link paused, thoughtful. “No. I don’t think that they are. I hope you’re having good sex, even if it’s not with me. And I… oh gosh.” Link shook his head.

“What?! You can’t stop there!”

“Man, I ain’t even got the first embarrassing confession out before I started the next.”

“I got time! I think our bosses will let us take a slightly longer lunch. Besides, I don’t want you to feel embarrassed to tell me anything.”

Link rolled his eyes. “Fine. I… have _gotten off_ thinking about you having good sex.”

Rhett’s was grinning before Link finished his sentence, but Link still quickly followed with, “Is that too far? I… I’m not just saying this, but when I’m thinkin’ about it, I’m thinkin’ mainly about you in the scenario.”

“I’m not mad about it either way, Link. I’m just happy to think about you touching yourself. Now what on earth were you about to confide in me about, in addition to that?”

“Originally, I was gonna say… I’m sure Christy was wondering what I’ve been looking at online or whatever, to come up with an idea like this. But I suggested we try… sixty-nining.”

Rhett slapped his thigh. “Ha! Finally. Can't believe y’all never tried it out just for novelty.”

“I swear, I didn’t know people actually _did_ that! I thought it was just… some made-up kinky stuff? But then you and I did it. And we’re people. Therefore, I guess it’s a thing people do!?”

“And how’d it, uh… go over?”

“I’d say she was pretty grateful!”

They both cackled until their bellies ached and their eyes watered.

Rhett made a mental note that this was another tally in the column of the new layer of their relationship improving their marriages. And he smiled as he finished eating his lunch, basking in the way that Link seemed to glow with a happiness and security he couldn’t clearly recall having identified in his best friend in years past.

* * *

_A couple of months later_

Rhett and Link were enjoying their usual Thursday night ritual of working late. This time felt especially enjoyable. The past several weeks they’d been working late into the nights, and having obscenely early mornings filming Buddy System 2. But now they were finally finished. That weekend they were having the wrap party. And the break wouldn’t be long-lived. They were releasing their Book of Mythicality and associated tour in the Fall, and there was a lot to take care of before that. But they were taking the couple of evenings in between now and then to be as unproductive as possible. Like the days between Christmas and New Year’s Day.

Friday night they’d spend with their families, but tonight they were spending with each other. The crew had all gone home for the night, and Rhett and Link were lounging in the loft eating takeout Chinese food listening to music and unwinding from the frantic Summer schedule they’d set for themselves. Trying not to think of the relentless Fall schedule ahead. 

Link reappeared from his bathroom break with all the flourish of a magician, complete with: _“Ta-daaa!”_

“You’ve made your mustache disappear!” Rhett announced his observation.

“Are you relieved that my handsome face is back to normal?”

Rhett shrugged and honestly admitted, “I didn’t mind the mustache. But you look great, Link.”

Link sauntered over to settle himself into Rhett’s lap. “Thank you, Rhett. I will say, my lip’s a little chilly without it.”

Rhett hummed and pulled Link close. “Come in and let me warm it for you then.”

As Link leaned in to kiss him, Rhett was acutely aware that this wasn’t something that usually happened on Thursday nights. Even behind closed doors, they had always stuck by their intent to keep their carnal desires to themselves; save them up for that ‘one time a year’ event. But the endorphins of having completed their scripted series were boiling over, and their bodies wanted to celebrate.

“It’s not been a year,” Rhett murmured against Link’s lips. 

“That’s not the rule,” Link breathed back. “It’s once a year. Not every year on a certain day..”

Rhett didn’t need more convincing. His heart was racing and his cock was swelling in his pants. “Okay,” he quickly agreed. “Let’s call the girls.”

“I already gave Christy the head’s up.”

“You little…” Rhett beamed. “You were planning this?”

“Maaaaybe. I was hoping anyway.”

“Just.. sleep here in the loft?” They’d never done that before. Rhett knew it couldn’t become a habit… None of this could. But this idea was thrilling to Rhett. 

The lies came even easier this time as Rhett called home. He felt a little less guilty than he had the first time. He imagined that every time would feel a little easier. Rhett wasn’t sure how to feel about that, but he didn’t dwell for long. 

“It’ll be like a sleepover!” Link said, fully giddy. “Or camping out!”

“We’ll need to make a tent,” Rhett suggested. They grabbed cushions and blankets from all throughout their office and loft areas to build their fortress. As he so often experienced with Link, he felt like a kid again. 

The light filtering in through the linen walls was downright romantic. Rhett couldn’t stop touching Link, and kissing him. They writhed and wiggles out of most their clothing, leaving them dressed down to their underwear. And Rhett was pretty sure that Link still had one sock on. 

“This wasn’t all I was hoping for,” Link admitted when they took a break for air, and for Link to refill his water bottle. 

Rhett cocked a curious eyebrow. “What were you hoping for? Like.. more of what we did last time?”

“I was wondering if we might. Y’know? Go all the way?” Link put the euphemistic phrasing in air quotes and rolled his eyes a little. Rhett supposed Link was trying to make light of his vulnerable request. 

This wasn’t out of nowhere. They had talked about this, too. It was something they both wanted. He knew that Link had started… _practicing_ on his own for the role he desired to play whenever they decided to try. So it wasn’t a surprise that they both wanted to try, but it was a surprise - to Rhett anyway - that it might be happening tonight. 

“You really were planning all this,” Rhett said when he worried he’d been silent for too long. 

“Brought lube and everything. But… that doesn’t mean we have to, if you’re-”

Rhett shook his head, “I’m ready. I’m _so_ ready. But the ceiling of this tent ain’t high enough, so we’re gonna have to move out onto the floor or sofa or something.”

Link looked a little disappointed.

“We’ll come back to the Cuddle Fort after,” Rhett promised. “I don’t want us to be cramped up for this. 

They crawled out from the comforting enclosure provided by their tent, and stripped off their remaining pieces of clothing. There was a simple sofa in the loft. Sometimes Link would nap there on long or stressful days. Sometimes Rhett would lie down there on lunch breaks if his back was killing him. But, to Rhett’s knowledge, neither of them had spent the night on it. Or done anything _like this_ on it. Link backed Rhett up with intent until the back of his knees hit the edge of the sofa. Rhett reflexively sat down. His legs spread slightly, he automatically took his cock in his hand. Giving himself a gentle squeeze as he watched Link approach him, lube in hand and determination burning in his eyes. 

“Is this how you want me?” Rhett asked. There was a softness in his voice that complemented the harsh determination of Link’s advance. 

“Yeah, I think it’ll go best if I feel like I can decide how uh… how much or how fast or… you know? Just don’t move too much or anything, unless I say I’m ready.”

“Uh huh,” Rhett agreed, unable to resist taking a jab at Link. “I should have known that if I was ever gonna get the chance to… do this, it wouldn’t be without you micromanaging the whole thing.”

“Would you rather not?” Link’s sly smile let Rhett know that he was able to read clear as day that there was nothing Rhett wanted more. 

Rhett held up his upturned palm, wordlessly asking for lube. 

He stroked himself nice and slow before helping guide Link to position himself with long, lean legs spread to hug Rhett’s thighs between them. Link gasped softly as Rhett reached thick fingertips to begin to gently massage him open. 

_There’s no rush,_ Rhett told himself. _We’ve got all night._ A small voice in his head countered, _Yeah, but_ just _the one night.._

Rhett had to filter his own thoughts. There was no way he was going to ruin this moment that he had been waiting for for so long by prematurely anticipating its ending. 

“You still with me, Rhett?” 

“Yeah, sorry. I’m here, bo.”

Link pushed Rhett’s shoulders to press him against the back of the sofa, using him for leverage as he worked up the courage to begin. 

Rhett’s lungs were suddenly empty as he felt Link sink down onto his tip. He could feel muscles reluctantly relaxing around him, tight and warm. He heard Link hiss, and felt him reflexively seize up. 

“This ain’t gonna work,” Link whined. “You’re bigger than any toy I’ve got at home.”

“We can stop,” Rhett assured him. It wasn’t what he wanted, but he would wait another year if they needed to. Five, ten, fifteen years… If Link wanted him for that long, Rhett felt that might be gratifying enough - whether or not they were able to do anything about it. 

“Let’s just… Can we try more lube?”

“Yeah,” Rhett huffed, gripping Link’s trembling thigh as if it might help to steady him. He reached with his other hand to grab the lube, then using both hands to repeat the process of slicking them both up again. 

Rhett grunted under his breath and hummed as he felt Link’s tight hole stretching around his achingly hard cock as he sank down again - this time a little farther. But still pausing and clenching not halfway down his shaft. He could feel the frustration vibrating off of Link’s skin. 

“Shhhh…” Rhett soothed. “Just relax. You know how good you feel?”

“I’m not— This isn’t—”

Rhett lifted Link’s chin to help him meet his eyes, and it was as if the eye contact gave Link permission to breathe. He took a deep breath, and a bead of sweat and a single tear rolled down his face. 

“I mean, we’re not even _doing_ anything. I thought I could do this. I _wanted_ to do this.”

Rhett kissed Link hard, and held him gently. He breathed against Link’s lust swollen lips, “I’m _inside you._ That’s not nothin’.”

“This is okay for you? It feels… silly?” 

“You feel incredible,” Rhett said roughly. “And don’t get me started on how you look right now. I’ll embarrass myself.”

Link lifted off of Rhett, and Rhett added more lube. They repeated the process gradually until Link was sliding all the way down onto Rhett’s cock. He moaned, and held his trembling hands tight in Rhett’s hair - pulling on his hair rather than clawing at his naked body the way Rhett imagined they both would have preferred. But they had to be practical. Eventually this little world they’d built for one another would end, and they’d have to return to their real ones. Real worlds that… were not _bad._ But they were not _this_. They were not Link’s tight ass enveloping his cock, his gorgeous body covered in a thin sheen of sweat. His chiseled jaw hung open in a silent scream of pleasure as he grew accustomed to the feeling of the full length of Rhett’s dick buried inside of him. Stretching and filling him. This was a world Rhett was not eager to leave. 

“Can I touch you?” Rhett asked weakly. 

“Nnnn… No. I’ll come.”

“I mean, I do want that.”

“Not before you fuck me first.”

“Want me to… move?”

“Not yet,” Link quickly snapped, subtly beginning to rock himself in Rhett’s large lap, and Rhett’s eyes slid shut at the movement. Rhett growled low in his throat. 

Link’s hands released their hold in Rhett’s hair and slid down to his broad freckled shoulders as he slowly began to ride. 

“Oh fuck..” Rhett exhaled in a gruff whisper. He was desperate to grip Link’s hips until he left marks, but reality nagged at him - reminding him that all traces must be gone by morning; no black and blue fingerprint left behind. He softly ran his thumbs over Link’s hip bones, and slid them back to gently cup Link’s spread cheeks. He loosely gripped his ass, just firmly enough to feel the perfect shape of his best friend as he fucked himself on Rhett’s cock with slowly building enthusiasm. 

“I can’t last, Link,” Rhett warned, his orgasm swelling in his aching balls. 

“You gonna come inside me?” Link asked in a reedy whine. 

“Jesus! You keep sayin’ stuff like that? Then yeah, probably.” Rhett’s breathing hitched as Link began to move faster.

“You can touch me now,” Link breathed against Rhett’s ear, Link’s freshly shaven tickling at his cheek. His words were more than a suggestion, but Rhett was more than happy to give him what he was demanding. Rhett wrapped his hand around Link’s cock, bouncing between their bodies. He rubbed a thumb over the leaking head and traced around the sensitive tip, feeling Link’s body shiver and shake in his lap. 

Rhett couldn’t resist bucking his hips a little. He didn’t want to push Link too far, but he didn’t need to push much anyway - a little bit was all it took before he was shooting his load inside of Link’s hot ass, and feeling Link’s cock twitching in his grip. Making a sticky mess between their bellies. 

Rhett saw that Link’s slack face of pleasure quickly flashed to him gritting his teeth. He helped to lift Link off of his spent cock. 

Link looked both relieved and.. disappointed?

“Are you okay?” Rhett had to know; he couldn’t stop covering Link with kisses. 

Link nodded. “I’m gonna get better at that, y’know?”

“You were plenty good, honey.”

Link didn’t look convinced, but he leaned into Rhett’s affections anyway. 

“Let’s shower,” Rhett suggested. “Then we can rebuild the Love Fort, and you can let me hold you and massage you, and let me show you just how much I love every part of your body. And everything you do with it.”

“That sounds good,” Link admitted. “I just.. I wish it had been easier. Or I had been more ready? When we only get to try once a year, it does put a lot of pressure on to make it.. _perfect.”_

Rhett wanted to contradict Link. But he felt the same pang of regret that they were going to have to wait again. His stomach crumpled and caved it on itself just thinking about going that long without being inside of Link again. He could feel his willpower to uphold this arrangement bending. But he kept himself together. Because he knew that if he even hinted at bending, Link would break. 

So Rhett kept to himself how badly he wanted to shatter their agreement. And have Link to himself at any and every opportunity. He settled for worshipping Link’s body in the shower, cuddling him in the blankets beneath their makeshift tent. And using his mouth to make Link come two more times before the sun rose and Rhett re-compartmentalized his feelings and intentions. Locking them away and beginning his countdown anew.


	5. Chapter 5

_ November 2017 _

Rhett opened the door of his hotel room to the inevitable sight of Link Neal. He looked as relaxed as Rhett felt. They’d both showered and changed into whatever they were planning on lounging and sleeping in. Except Rhett noticed that Link’s hair seemed slightly more put together. Rhett had kinda put his hair loosely into place, feeling in his gut that he hadn’t seen the last of Link that night. But not allowing himself to hope to the extent of putting product or anything in his hair. He had bothered to put on deodorant, which he didn’t typically do before bed. 

Their tour for the release of their Book of Mythicality had kicked off mere months after they’d wrapped on Buddy System 2. It was a relentless schedule that kept them working at a ridiculous pace. Considering they were largely in charge of their own schedule, within some constraints of ‘The Biz’, the nonstop nature seemed inexplicable. 

Except that Rhett could explain it. Working kept them together by default. Now here Link was, at his hotel room, with thousands of miles between them and their families. Rhett found it hard to chalk their circumstances up to fate. After all, they were getting exactly what they wanted. It was hard to believe that they hadn’t somehow steered this ship to their current destination. 

“Hey, man!” Rhett said, in lieu of a thousand other things he would have rather said by way of greeting his best friend, his lifelong love, and current obsession. 

“You were great tonight,” Link told him, a beaming grin stretching ear to adorable ear. 

“Pshhh.  _ You _ were great.”

“Dude. You must’ve saved my skin a dozen times out there. I swear, I’d feel like I was losing my place but then looking over… or just knowing you were there with me in moments of darkness on stage…. or whatever. I would find my place.”

Rhett’s smile was irrepressible. “Fine. We’re both great.”

“Yeah, we are!” Link smiled. “Uh, can I come in at least?” He chuckled awkwardly. 

Rhett knew in his heart that he was conflicted, but he hadn’t realized the degree to which he’d been physically  _ blocking _ the doorway. 

“Oh! Yeah, ‘course.” 

He stood back to allow Link to come inside. Link settled comfortably onto the bed, and Rhett joined him there. He grabbed them a bag of chips and a couple of beers that he’d bought at the brewery they’d toured before their performance, to kill some time after arriving into town early. Rhett casually switched on the tv for background noise, and Link thanked him for the snacks. Within a few minutes, Link was instinctually curling up into Rhett’s body. Nuzzling himself against his chest until Rhett draped a stiff arm over him. 

“Is this okay?” Link asked, need dripping from his words - sensing Rhett’s hesitation. 

Rhett’s stomach twisted. “I…”

His reluctance made Link break free from Rhett’s arms. 

“What’s wrong, Rhett? Has… has something changed?”

“Apparently things  _ have _ changed, Link. Because it hasn’t been even close to a calendar year since the last time we were.. together like this.”

Link’s eyes widened in surprise. “But. I don’t get it. This is, like, the ideal situation. We don’t gotta find a hotel, because we’re  _ supposed to _ be in a hotel. We don’t have to make excuses to not come home, because we’re already scheduled to be away. This is the least suspicious, least risky opportunity we’re gonna get.”

“I know,” Rhett sighed, struggling to articulate his internal conflict. 

“I know last time was a little awkward, but.. I’ll get better the more we try.”

“Link, don’t be ridiculous!”

“I just don’t understand,” Link’s voice broke, making Rhett’s stomach sink. “Don’t you want me anymore? Or did something happen after we… did what we did? If that made you, like,  _ realize _ something.. if it was a mistake..”

“No!” Rhett squeezed Link so tightly he heard a huff off air from Link’s lips as Rhett pressed it from his lungs. Rhett couldn’t stand to hear the way that Link’s voice had brittled with emotion. “I could  _ never _ think about you as a mistake. Don’t you dare think that.”

“Well, it’s hard to know what to think,” Link’s voice remained tight and defensive. “When I’ve spent the whole day looking forward to tonight, where we can be alone and together. Making love all night long. Imagining that’s how we’d be spending most nights of this tour. Come to find out you weren’t planning or looking forward to  _ any _ of the same stuff.”

They were quiet for a moment. The couple of inches distance between them made Rhett ache. 

“There is literally nothing in this world that I want more than to be inside of you right now, Link.”

Link was exasperated. “Then fuckin’  _ take me _ , Rhett.”

“You’re usually the one that has us stick to the rules. And makes sure that we do things the right way, instead of diving into the freakin’ deep end. Like I’d have us do, without your guidance.”

“I don’t know how to have rules about you, Rhett. About  _ us _ . The rules don’t make sense to me.”

“I’m afraid, Link. I’m afraid that if there’s no rules.. If we get to have each other whenever we’re alone together, I’m gonna  _ find _ reasons for us to be alone together. If we aren’t bound to one night, then why not every night? I will tour the Book of Mythicality as many times over as many years as our finances will allow. I’ll convince folks that touring  _ beyond _ what our finances allow would be an investment! I’ll write more books, more songs, any excuse to be on the road with you. To have an excuse to get you into my bed. We won’t know when to stop. We’ll get sloppy. We’ll get  _ caught _ . People we love will get hurt. We will hurt each other, and I’m  _ not _ gonna let that happen, Link. I can’t.”

“Well, there’s gotta be somethin’ in between that and what we’re doing now. I… I’ll play the role that I always have, and I’ll keep us from crossing the line like that if I feel like our schedule’s becoming contrived. And our late nights for creativity will still be for that, and not for…  _ this.  _ We will limit ourselves to one gratuitously planned opportunity to be together per year. But we will not turn down opportunities like this. We won’t be sloppy about it when the crew are around and what not. I’ll—”

Rhett stopped his promises with a kiss. He reached over to take Link’s drink and set it on the nightstand. “I trust you, Link. I don’t trust myself one bit. But I trust  _ you _ to keep us safe.”

Rhett crashed their lips together again, and Link’s eyes were wild and desperate when they parted for air. Link bunched the front of Rhett’s t-shirt into his fist. “Then rip my clothes off and fuck me into this mattress.”

Nobody had ever spoken to Rhett like that, and the raw lust had him rock hard in his joggers. He and Link had taken care of each other in nearly every way - ever since they were kids. And now Link was re-introducing Rhett to these new versions of each other. Electric, unabashed eroticism that Rhett had never fully embodied in his sex life. He’d had good sex, but he’d always felt like an actor playing the role of someone who’s good in bed. And afterward, he’d always felt he was pretty convincing. But when he was with Link, things were on a whole different level. He and Link together  _ were  _ good sex. The boundaries of where one ended and the other began melted together. They felt each other’s pleasure, and discomfort. But mostly there was the adrenaline spiked  _ relief _ of finally being one, after all those months of being so unnaturally separate. 

They were naked and writhing in no time. Their limbs tangled together, sliding against one another smoothly in the sweat of their earnest pursuit to physically merge their bodies. Link’s breaths were coming in hot shallow puffs against Rhett’s skin, their bodies flushed fully pink with exertion. 

Link reached for the pocket of his discarded sweatpants to grab the lube he’d brought. As Link stretched his reach, Rhett couldn’t resist folding himself over to take Link’s cock into his mouth. Link’s entire body loosened and he dropped a hand down into Rhett’s soft hair - not pulling, but just resting.. petting.. adoring. 

Link flipped himself over to present his ass for Rhett, an overt reminder of what he’d so boldly asked Rhett to do. Rhett grabbed some pillows for Link to tuck under his front to help prop him up, and to give him something to get some friction from if he needed it. 

Link didn’t prop himself up on anything aside from his knees initially. He had his ass sticking up in the air, and his back stretched long and low as he had his face resting sideways against the mattress. 

Rhett slicked Link up slowly, playing with him a little. Not deliberately trying to tease, but just because he enjoyed it so much. The sight of him, wet and shiny, opening for Rhett.. twitching and pulsing with anticipation. Rhett lowered his lips to extend his pointy tongue and trace the sensitive skin at his entrance. Link shivered under his touch. Rhett pressed his fingertips to the area he’d licked and lubed and watched them disappear inside the heavenly heat of Link’s body. Link did seem to take his fingers more easily than Rhett recalled. Rhett imagined Link was more relaxed now that he knew exactly what to expect. 

Rhett used his tongue to stroke the smooth bridge of skin between Link’s balls and his hole. He teased Links balls with his tongue, struggling to get his face and his fingers all in one area. He just so desperately wanted to stimulate every part of Link. Link’s body was so sensitive and responsive, he was a lot of fun to play with. 

Everything Rhett had ever done with Link was just so much fun. Outside, and now inside, of the bedroom. Rhett couldn’t shake the overwhelming notion that  _ nothing  _ with Link was like  _ anything  _ else.. with anyone else. Rhett was questioning how he could have thought he could keep himself away from Link’s body 364 days out of the year.

Rhett straightened up and lined his cock up with Link’s hole. His eyes rolled back as the feeling of tight hot pleasure melted with the delicious sounds he was pressing out of Link. Inch by inch Link’s body swallowed Rhett’s dick until Rhett was rocking his hips flush against Link’s ass. Rhett held onto Link’s narrow waist as he slowly withdrew his length, lubed up again and buried himself inside of Link again. Link was pressing his hips backward and meeting his strokes eagerly. 

Link moaned Rhett’s name as Rhett slowly fucked him. Rhett was losing himself in how good Link felt when he heard something other than his own name falling off of Link’s whimpering tongue.

“More…”

“I’m giving you all I got, baby.” Rhett bit his tongue at the pet name that had slipped out. But Link didn’t seem to mind, and whined even louder. 

“Harder, Rhett! I want you to really  _ fuck _ me.”

Rhett didn’t need to be told twice. He dropped down to his elbows, leaning onto his left arm and using his right to adjust the pillow under Link’s crotch before lowering that arm and essentially covering Link’s body with his own. His entire frontside was now glued to Link’s back. 

“Brace yourself, Neal.” Rhett began to thrust and grind his hips with all the leverage he could wring from his large body. Link was like an ecstatically caged animal beneath him. 

“God yes!” Link cried out. “Yes, Rhett! Give it to me like that! Just like that!”

Rhett’s pace was unrelenting, his arms and his core were on fire from holding himself just barely above Link, and he could feel himself tiring and beginning to rest more of his weight against Link as he focused on his pistoning hips, and getting off on the way that Link was bucking his hips below him. He didn’t know if Link was getting more out of the way that Rhett was pounding his ass or the way that Link was shamelessly humping the pillow - but it didn’t make any difference to Rhett, as long as Link came. 

When Link did come, he was loud and grateful. Rhett finished quickly after Link had begun trembling and crying out. He didn’t stop fucking him until after he was thrusting into his own mess, making the come spill out over Link’s rim and drip down his thighs. 

Link’s body was soft and pliant after Rhett slowly withdrew, he seemed like he might melt right into the mattress with how relaxed he was. 

Rhett spared little time to reflect on how he was feeling, fully focused on taking care of Link. It wasn’t the roughness of the sex that had Rhett feeling so apologetic and compensating - it was the brief moment where he had led Link to think that Rhett didn’t want this for them. As if Rhett could ever have a taste of what it was like to know Link’s body, and then not want more. It was beyond Rhett’s comprehension, and the turnaround - if he ever believed that Link felt that way about him - was an actual nightmare. No matter how unintentional or fleeting, it made Rhett sick that Link had felt that way. 

“Do you wanna shower, or you want me to clean you up right here?” Rhett offered. 

“Last time, when we showered after.. was one of the least efficient, but most enjoyable showers of my life.”

“So…? Are you leaning toward efficiency or pleasure?”

“Believe it or not, I’m willing to look past efficiency in this case.”

“All these years, and you’re still able to surprise me.”

“Maybe it’s you that’s bringing out new and surprising things from me.”

Rhett kissed Link deeply before leading him to the shower.

And then back to bed.

And then back to his own room before Stevie’s wakeup call. 


	6. Chapter 6

_Summer 2019_

The sun was just beginning to set on the little secluded forest cottage Airbnb that they’d rented for the week. Their stated intention was to focus on editing their first novel. And reconnecting in their friendship, which their livelihoods were built on. Work stuff. A little getaway. 

As always, there were unstated intentions as well.

Their days had been productive. Their nights had been otherworldly, and often bled into morning. They slept half their day away, like teenagers on summer vacation. 

And they wanted for nothing. They had each other; they were full. 

Rhett could feel himself slipping into a brooding mood. And he tried to squash that feeling and lose himself in the scent of the pines, and the sensation of the late evening sun on his freckled skin as its final rays filtered in through the canopy. This was not a place or a time for brooding. This was the perfect time of day, when the heat of the day had just broken and the cool relief of the fresh night air began to settle. His eyes flicked over to Link, sat at the other end of the oversized porch swing - perfect for their oversized frames - chewing on his lip; lost in his concentration as he read over and over the chapter that he was working on. Rhett felt overcome with love for this man, and he was trying like hell but he also couldn’t keep out a sliver of sadness. 

“Do our characters ever… frustrate you?” Rhett asked. He was sure that the comment would seem like it had come out of nowhere to Link, but he didn’t know how else to ease into the difficult things that had been on his mind. 

“Yeah, man. That Rex one especially. Totally annoying.” Link winked. 

“I’m not joking around, Link.”

Link adjusted his posture, non verbally communicating to Rhett that he was ready to listen in a non joking manner. 

“Frustrating how?”

“It’s all just a little too aspirational,” Rhett tried to explain. 

Link’s eyebrows knit together in confusion. “I thought that was the point.”

“I feel like people will see right through it.” Rhett’s stomach sank, as his body viscerally responded to the shame that it held onto despite the personal development that he’d so actively been seeking recently. “Like. They’re gonna know that we wouldn’t have been outsiders, or that we wouldn’t have been the ones to befriend the people that didn’t fit in. Not without an ulterior motive anyway.”

“To get them right with God…” Link finished the sentiment, adjusting the angle of the leg he had folded up under himself as he sat. 

“Yeah. Right.”

“I think that’s why it’s important to tell this story, Rhett. To show who we wish we could have been back then. How we’ve tried to raise our kids to be.”

“Maybe we shoulda named our characters after them…”

“Too many names in the hat,” Link chuckled. “Besides, there’s still plenty of _us_ in these characters, Rhett. I know it’s not just the naming that’s got you all flustered.”

“I’m not flustered,” Rhett pouted. Hating that that was the best description for what he was doing. Over 40 years old and pouting. 

If Link thought he was being immature or whiny, he did a good job of not showing it. But Rhett already knew that Link didn’t know how to hide his emotions - always wearing them right on his sleeve. So whatever judgement Link was reserving had nothing to do with politeness or social grace. Rhett supposed it had more to do with how he loved and embraced even the whiniest, most immature parts of him. The thought made him relax a little, maybe even smile a bit. 

Link patted the space next to him on the swing, asking Rhett to sit closer. Rhett slid over until their thighs pressed together. Link covered Rhett’s hand with his own. 

“Tell me what’s really bothering you.”

Rhett took a deep breath. They’d talked about some of this privately; with each other, their wives, select friends. But never from this particular angle. “The church. Our relationship with it. Is it dramatic to feel like maybe it literally ruined our lives?”

Link didn’t try to hide the hurt. Again with the lack of social graces. He couldn’t have fooled Rhett anyway, even if he had the skill or desire to. “Gosh, Rhett. You really think we’re livin’ ruint lives?”

“They’re different than they’d be if we had been allowed to live and love how we were meant to from the start.”

“You’re gettin’ the better deal being with me _now._ I’m a helluva lot better in bed than I was in my early 20s.”

“That’s the thing though! We shoulda been bad in bed together. And been the ones to help each other figure it out.”

“I _love_ our lives. Our wives. Our kids. Our company. And now we get to—”

“I know, I know. I just… It breaks my heart sometimes. That we can’t know what it might have been like. To share our _whole_ lives. Not just the ‘socially acceptable’ parts.”

“Hey,” Link said softly. “We’re here now. And I’m sharing all of me with you now. Think you can be here with me now?”

Rhett’s smile curled upward a little more. “Baby, there’s nowhere else I’d rather be.” Rhett lowered his lips to lightly touch Link’s before adding, “Except for maybe inside of this cottage, under the covers with you.”

“Inside? Under covers? You truly are repressed! What are you afraid of? A bear seeing you bare?”

Rhett snorted in amusement. “All right then, Neal. I can take you right here on this porch if you’d rather. Thought maybe with the sun setting, it might be a little cool for ya. I s’pose you reckon I’ll find a way to keep you warm?”

Link hummed low in his throat as he led Rhett down onto the cherry-stained deck. “If you want,” Link husked in a teasing voice. “I can buck my hips with no hope for rhythm, and blow my load as quickly as possible before crawling inside my own head for hours of sexual repression and shame? See what it coulda been like for us when we were younger?”

Rhett’s belly laugh betrayed his words. “That’s not funny!” Rhett brought his lips lower to kiss down Link’s long neck. 

“What? Too real for ya?” 

“I’m ready to be here with you, Link. Now. As we are.”

Link placed his hands on either side of Rhett’s bearded face to meet his lips again. 

“Good,” Link whispered against Rhett’s hot mouth. 

“I love you so much,” Rhett breathed back. 

“I love you, Rhett,” Link answered before swallowing Rhett’s tongue. 

They began to peel each other out of their clothes. Rhett knew there was no one around for miles and miles, but it was still a thrill to be doing this outdoors. And it felt like the most natural thing in the world to be doing it with Link… in nature. He didn’t have to ask Link in order to know that he was just as excited. He could _feel_ it. 

Their hands were frantic, urgent. But Rhett slowed them down. He needed to slow them down. To remind himself that they had all week to play house together. They had their whole lives… not completely, but.. more than once a year anyway! 

“Wanna take my time with you,” Rhett said in a low whisper, having maneuvered himself on top of Link. 

Link stilled the desperate movement of his hands, calmed the needy writhing of his body. Elongated his neck, and made as open an offering of himself as he could. 

The evening air was refreshing, like diving into a pool on a summer’s day. Neither one of them shivered, though they both had goosebumps. 

Rhett nibbled Link’s earlobe and down his neck. He buried his bearded face into the crook and breathed Link into his lungs - the one element that always seemed missing from the air that he needed. Link's chest rose in heaves, and Rhett knew that he had something better than air to give back to Link. Rhett’s hands trailed over Link’s chest, lightly traced over his pebbled nipples before his fingers fanned out to Link’s sides to slide down his trunk and hold his waist; then worked his way down to his hips. 

Rhett stared hungrily at Link’s full cock, erect against his belly and glistening at the tip. 

“Fuck, you’re beautiful…” Rhett murmured under his breath. The little humming sound that Link made in response let him know that Link had heard him. Rhett wanted to follow that up by saying that he didn’t know how Christy ever let him out of her sight. And that if Link was his he’d never let him leave the bedroom. But all that was complicated to articulate. And neither true nor fair besides. He wasn’t going to risk killing the mood when he had Link’s gorgeous cock begging for his attention. He decided he’d better occupy his mouth to keep it from saying something stupid. Or maybe he just wanted to taste Link again. 

He stretched his lips around the head of Link’s cock, and took his time taking him down. He tasted the salt and sex of the pre-come. He luxuriated in the soft slipperiness of each inch passing his lips, sliding over his tongue, and filling his throat. 

The sweet sounds that Rhett drew out of Link were everything. The moans, hums, and sighs wove together and the blanket of sound wrapped around Rhett making him feel safe and relaxed and held.

Link’s hands massaged Rhett’s shoulders, buried themselves in his hair, scratched lightly at his back and shoulders. It was like he couldn’t find enough points of contact. 

“Don’t go nowhere,” Rhett told Link with a quick wink before he slipped into the cottage to grab the lube. 

When he returned, he was rewarded with the sight of Link spreading his legs and opening his hips wide for Rhett. Link had his back flat on the deck, lazily stroking his cock as he offered his body to Rhett. 

“Rhett?” Link whimpered when Rhett stayed lost in the sight of him for a fraction too long. 

Rhett didn’t answer with words, he answered by lowering himself back down to massage Link’s opened thighs. He followed up each touch with wet kisses and sharp quick nibbles. Link was putty in his hands, and by the time that Rhett was slicking him up and preparing him with long, thick fingers, Link was practically melting for him. 

“I’m so ready, honey,” Link sighed. 

Rhett’s face burned with fondness. He didn’t think Link had ever called him by a pet name before. _Honey._ Rhett wanted to be sweetness incarnate for Link.

Rhett took his own cock in hand and guided it home. Slowly nestling it inside and listening to the cues in every breath and muscle movement he could feel from Link. Their syncopation and separateness synchronizing and merging into one movement. 

“Oh gosh, Rhett,” Link uttered beneath him. Somewhere between a grunt and a sigh. 

“You okay?” Rhett managed, slowing his already carefully paced thrusts. 

“Hell yes,” Link affirmed. “Just gotta remember to breathe, or I’m gonna pass out.”

Rhett huffed a quick laugh. 

“I’m serious. God, Rhett. You fuck me so good. Makes me wanna leave my body, but then… that’s where all the good stuff’s happenin’, so I gotta hurry up and rush back to the moment.”

Rhett smiled lazily. He eased himself deep within Link and pulsed his hips quickly and making Link yelp a high pitched whine before stilling himself, still buried to the hilt. 

“You mean _that_ kinda moment?”

Link rolled his eyes back so hard his chin tilted back with them. His fingertips clawed at the deck, like he was instinctively searching out bedsheets to clutch. 

Rhett wrapped his hand around Link’s cock, his grip high on him to thumb over the slick leaking head. 

“Fuck..” Link whimpered, rocking his hips on Rhett’s dick. Like he was trying to ride him from underneath. 

Rhett gathered Link in his large embrace and rolled them over until Rhett’s back was to the patio (which, his muscles would pay for that maneuver in the morning -but it was worth it), and Link was now positioned to ride him properly. 

“Go ahead and get your moment.”

Link looked stunned from the sudden repositioning, his hair ruffled and his glasses askew. Link removed his glasses completely and slid them out of harm’s way before anchoring his hands into Rhett’s shoulders and beginning to grind down. 

Rhett couldn’t take his eyes off of Link’s body. He moved so fluidly as he controlled and took his pleasure. They were both already shining with sweat and flushed with exertion. Link’s jaw hung open and Rhett was torn between watching his muscles move under his skin, and watching his plump lips panting for breaths. 

Rhett wanted it all. 

And Link was giving him everything he had. 

Rhett refused to think about the end of the week, when he’d have to give it back. He’d told Link that he could be there in the moment with him, and he was determined to try. 

“Touch me, honey,” Link whimpered in a high whine. 

Rhett knew Link was getting close, and Rhett wasn’t far behind. Rhett stroked Link’s cock for him with one attentive hand, and grabbed a handful of Link’s asscheek with his other hand. Rhett bent his knees to lift his own hips to better meet Link’s movements as he rode him harder and harder, chasing his orgasm. 

“Fuck, Rhett! I’m coming!” 

Rhett felt the warm wetness spurting over his fingers wrapped around Link’s pulsing cock, and emptied his load inside of Link. 

“Don’t stop don’t stop don’t…” Rhett grunted and mumbled, not wanting it to ever stop. Not wanting to separate. 

They’d wasted _so_ much time separated. 

“God, Rhett. Can’t believe I get to have you like this for a whole week.”

Rhett felt lightheaded and giddy. It was so easy to ignore the small voice that nagged at the edges of his consciousness. 

_And then what?_

So much of Rhett’s growth work in therapy had focused on him learning to not hide the truest, most vulnerable parts of himself. It had made him painfully self-aware of the parts of himself that he did still hide; casually sweeping them under a very confidently placed and attractive-looking rug. Hoping that nobody would read too much into the artfully lettered sign cautioning, “All good! No need to look under here!”

But that was where he kept the nature of his spirituality, sexuality, his relationship with Link. These were some of the most important parts of himself. The parts of himself that made him feel alive and growing. 

Rhett felt that he’d taken steps toward allowing himself to peek under the rug and accept, even begin to embrace, what he found there. But as he grew in self-love and authenticity, he could feel himself becoming a ticking time bomb. Like one day he might detonate and blow back the rug; pulling it back like a magician doing a magic trick. And it terrified him to think about who all might be standing on that rug when he yanks it out from under them as he proclaimed _Ta daaaa!_

Rhett held Link more tightly. Holding his naked body like a security blanket. 

“I love you, Link.”

Link just kissed his chest in response. 

“I… I think I want to tell my deconstruction story. Publicly.”

“Like.. On Ear Biscuits?”

“Maybe.”

“Okay. I’ll do mine, too.”

“Really?”

“I’m not gonna let you put yourself out there alone.”

Rhett breathed a little easier. There was still a lot of himself he was hiding. But it felt good to feel like he was moving in a more open direction. 

He kissed the top of Link’s head. 

They had to start somewhere. 


End file.
